Kim Boutin

www.facebook.com/kimbtin/

Awards and honours	She received the 2022 Nathalie Lambert Award from Speed Skating Canada, which recognises the Canadian Short Track Female Athlete of the Year. She also won the award in 2018 and 2020. (speedskating.ca, 01 Mar 2022) She was named the 2018 Female Winter Athlete of the Year at the Canadian Sports Awards. (globalnews.ca, 21 Sep 2018) She was flag bearer for Canada at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (OIS, 25 Feb 2018) She received the 2015 Short Track Rising Star Award from Speed Skating Canada. (sirc.ca, 28 Oct 2015)
Injuries	She missed the 2020 Four Continents Championships in Montreal, QC, Canada, due to a knee injury. She also decided to withdraw from the 2020 World Cup event in Dordrecht, Netherlands, in order to rest and prepare for the world championships in Seoul, Republic of Korea, the following month. The world championships were eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (isu.org, 16 Apr 2020, 09 Feb 2020; cbc.ca, 11 Feb 2020) She sustained a back injury in 2016 that kept her out of action for six months. (Athlete, 05 Dec 2019, 08 Nov 2017) She was unable to skate for several months during the 2014/15 season because of a back injury. (Athlete, 10 Dec 2015)

Reason for choosing this sport

Her brother was already involved in skating and Boutin wanted to follow him. "I love the sport because you can always improve and do better."

Hero / Idol

Canadian short track skater Marianne St-Gelais. (olympic.ca, 20 Aug 2017)

When and where did you begin this sport?

She began skating at age six in Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.

Sporting philosophy / motto	"I've changed my mindset, which was to challenge myself every day. I can still challenge myself but in the end, it will be my day, or not." (reuters.com, 01 Feb 2022)
Other information	PLANS FOR 2023/24 In March 2023 she announced she would not be competing at the first four World Cup events of the 2023/24 season. Instead, she planned to combine training with her studies and completing an internship at a programme that prides support for young mothers in Canada. She then intends to switch focus to the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina, which will be her third appearance at the Games.. "I had a performance-oriented undergraduate experience, to the detriment, I believe, of my mental health. My second cycle, I wanted to be good. My performance goals were much lower. I was in a different mentality. In my next cycle, I want to combine the two: to be efficient and mentally well. All my actions are aligned towards this goal. I want to experience these Games with aggression, to see Kim 2.0 on the ice. We don't really know what she's going to do, but she's going to have a fiery start, that's for sure! I want to be different at these Games." (ici.radio-canada.ca, 22 May 2023) RETIREMENT THOUGHTS She questioned her desire to continue pursuing the sport following the retirement of her international teammate Samuel Girard in May 2019. Girard had won a gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, but quit short track after deciding he was happy with what he had achieved in the sport. National coach Frederic Blackburn eventually talked Boutin out of retirement, and the pair decided she would benefit from some time training in the Netherlands. "It's normal to have other goals, and for myself, I feel sometimes that I want to be with my family more, or that I want to do something else with my life. I needed to reconnect with myself. Did I want to continue speed skating? Did I have something more to [accomplish]? [In the end] I just needed to change my routine. It was a hard thing losing my teammate [Girard], and I wanted to know what the goals are for people who are the best in other countries. What are they doing to challenge themselves?" (cbc.ca, 08 Nov 2019)

twitter.com/kimbtin

Ambitions	To compete at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (ici.radio-canada.ca, 22 May 2023; latribune.ca, 16 Mar 2023)
Milestones	She became the first short track skater representing Canada to win three individual medals at a single edition of the Olympic Winter Games by claiming bronze medals in the 500m and 1500m and a silver medal in the 1000m at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Oct 2018; plus.lapresse.ca, 05 Jul 2018; OIS, 17 Feb 2018)

Name of coach

Sebastien Cros [national], FRA

Hobbies

Painting, knitting. (speedskating.ca, 31 Dec 2020)